


Star-Crossed

by HeartsInJeopardy



Category: Starfighter (Comic), Starfighter Eclipse
Genre: AU, Angst, M/M, Original Characters - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 21:47:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartsInJeopardy/pseuds/HeartsInJeopardy
Summary: AU- A stroke of luck made Selene the youngest Lead Navigator in Alliance history. But a handsome new recruit will change his life in ways neither of them could predict.





	1. Twist Of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in an AU where Selene and Helios are still the same age, but Selene is the Kepler’s Lead Navigator. That should be clear from the story itself, but just so there’s no confusion. Enjoy, and please share any comments – good or bad!

“Attention!” Selene called out, his voice echoing through the huge space of the Kepler’s lecture gallery.

Murmurs from the crowd of anxious-looking new recruits and bored crew members before him tapered down as they turned to face the stage. Many of them let their eyes linger on the youthful Lead Navigator and his burly partner, who seemed out of place standing at attention beside the ship’s commander.

“Thank you, Selene,” Hayden said, stepping to the podium at the front of the stage and clicking on the huge video screen behind him.

Selene didn’t see any notes in Hayden’s hands – and he doubted his commander had bothered to make any – but he could predict every word of the speech. Since he had left the academy as a teenager, the only thing each new tour of duty shared was that it began with a dry, nearly identical lecture from the man in charge.

Hayden told the Kepler’s crew that he ran a tight ship, and expected everyone to pull their weight. That he was a tough but fair commander, who wanted his men to represent the best qualities of an Alliance soldier. _Replace him with a stack of recruitment posters_ , Selene thought, _and nobody would notice the difference_.

“We’ll be running scouting missions on the brink of Colteron space,” he told the crowd in a grave tone, “where anything and everything can happen. So I need you all to stay sharp.”

The crew seemed ready for a nap despite the warning, except for a few recruits who shared nervous glances after hearing the Kepler’s mission. The sterile space of the lecture hall wasn’t doing Hayden any favors - sitting here always felt like being back in school, or at least that’s what Selene was reminded of.

His eyes were drifting over the new faces in the crowd, picking out his green navigators and the fighter recruits who would be serving under his partner, Endymion.

So many faces, so many years gone by. He had sat in rooms just like this with close friends, and then seen most of them die in the cold of space. 

He had watched the bright and eager recruits of his graduating year harden into weary veterans, then slowly said goodbye to them one by one, until only he and Endymion were left to remember them.

Some had rotated away to far-off postings, to wait out their discharge somewhere reasonably comfortable. Others found their own ways back home, “opting out” of their contract, as the staff in Personnel called it.

It was hard for Selene to believe he had ever been as naïve as these recruits were. But then again, his path to becoming the Kepler’s Lead Navigator was anything but typical.

High marks on a single aptitude test in childhood had signalled that Selene was a “gifted” student, just the kind the Alliance liked to poach for their Junior Officer Training Corps.

He could only guess what the recruiters back on Earth had told his parents, but they were perfectly happy to sign his life away to the cause. Maybe it was the prestige of having their child fast-tracked into the officer corps. Maybe it was the generous signing bonus the Alliance offered for bright young applicants.

All Selene had known at the time was he had to transfer to a special school. Take special, advanced courses. Spend hours training in flight simulators and practicing virtual battle plans. It wasn’t until his teenage years that he truly appreciated what he was being groomed for.

He was tossed straight from the academy simulators into almost daily skirmishes in the hottest part of the Alliance frontier. With anyone but Endymion as his co-pilot, Selene thought, he wouldn’t have survived that first posting.

“To our fighters and navigators,” Hayden droned on, “remember that support is the key to success, both as individuals and as a crew. You must learn to trust and rely upon your partners.”

Selene agreed with Hayden about that, at least, but he was sure the fighters and navigators meeting their partners for the first time today would have no idea just what they were in for. He snuck a quick glance at Endymion, standing proudly beside him.

He was a colony kid, with a brawny frame, warm bronze skin, and handsome almond-shaped eyes that lit up when he smiled, though just now they were staring over the crowd with his practiced steely expression.

All of Selene’s classmates at the academy had been jealous when Endymion was paired with him. They were the same age, but even as a child Endymion towered above his classmates, and he had grown up with his poster boy smile.  

But Selene had treated his partner with a restrained respect during their time in school. His teachers explained that developing a strong bond earlier in life was shown to improve a team’s performance. No concern there - his simulator scores with Endymion were excellent - but at the academy Selene only ever felt friendly towards him.

Their first taste of battle after graduation had changed that.

On paper it had been a success, a Colteron ambush that they thwarted thanks to Selene’s quick-thinking and textbook maneuvers. All told, 14 enemy starfighters were destroyed with minimal damage to their own ship.

But none of the other teams on the sortie had made it back. One by one, they had vanished from Selene’s radar array with a flash and a sizzle, their last words garbled in a burst of static before the comm channels went dead.

Selene had kept a brave face after arriving back in the hangar, nodding along with their commander as he spoke about “a win for our side,” and “acceptable losses.” Endymion was the only one who could see that his partner was broken inside.

He whisked Selene back to their room without any more kudos from the crew, cradling his head as he sobbed through the night, telling him over and over again, “It’s alright.” By morning, Selene could almost believe it.

“In closing, let me say this,” Hayden said, turning off the screen behind him for emphasis. Selene shook himself out of his reverie, hoping the painful memories hadn’t shown on his face.

“A ‘dangerous’ posting like this has its upsides. Our Lead Fighter and Lead Navigator, Endymion and Selene, were the youngest in Alliance history to earn their positions.” He clapped a hand on Selene’s shoulder and beamed at the crowd. “And it’s thanks to the valuable combat experience they earned on missions just like this one.”

Selene smiled up at his commander, but scoffed inside his head. A small fortune invested by the Alliance in his education, and a few dozen dead Colterans. What a way to build a career.

Really, he reflected, if he owed his position to anything, it was to some damn test he took before he was even 10 years old. One gold star on a piece of paper that had changed the course of his life. More than a decade later, it felt like dark cloud hanging over his head.

He had always hated tests, and maybe now he knew why. _If I could do it all over again_ , he told himself, _I would pretend to be sick that day. Or rip up that test and take a detention instead_.

As the crew filed out of the lecture hall, Selene indulged himself in imagining how different his life could have been. But only for a moment.

He had a job to do, after all.

*******

Helios squinted down at the billet ticket he had been given for what must have been the hundredth time, running a hand through the soft, short hair of his undercut.

He could make out what looked like a bunk number – 116 – but the other symbols, letters, and numbers listed after it were a mystery to him. After following the herd of new recruits to the lecture hall, he had quickly gotten turned around in the bowels of the ship and lost the group.

After a half hour of stumbling around, it was hard to keep telling himself he wasn’t lost.

Someone walking by bumped him sharply with an elbow, letting off a string of nasty insults in Russian as they walked past. Helios realized standing stock-still in the middle of the hallway like a frightened deer was not helping him to crack the code.

Trudging aimlessly through the mazelike halls of the Kepler, he finally found a fighter-navigator pair and trailed behind them as they walked together. A short elevator ride later, they had led him to a nearly identical hall, but with signs reading “CREW QUARTERS” in bright red letters hanging from the ceiling.

In fact, there was no room 116 in this section of the ship – and Helios was sure, because he checked every, single, door. After he had _thoroughly_ investigated each _long_ hallway, he finally realized his mistake.

The door to room 911 buzzed happily as he tapped his key card against it, and slid aside with a whir. Before Helios could even look inside the room, a slender man in a navigator’s uniform stepped in front of him.

He was about a head shorter than Helios, with walnut brown skin, dark, wavy hair and a broad smile.

“Hey roomie.” The man said with a wave. “I’m Sol, so you must be Helios. You get lost after the commander’s speech?”

“Me?” Helios asked. He shook his head as he stepped inside. Sol had obviously claimed the bed on the far side, so he set his bags down near the closer bunk. “Nah, I was just exploring the ship.”

“You’re a bad liar.” Sol laughed. He trailed a finger down Helios’ chest. “But that’s good – it means you’re an honest person. At least one of us should be.” He winked, and grinned like they would be sharing a room on an ocean cruise, not a warship headed for enemy territory.

Helios couldn’t help smiling along with his new roommate. For someone who had just sat through a long, boring speech about risk and duty, he was surprisingly chipper. At least he knew his partner wouldn’t be a drag to work with.

“Not to bring the mood down,” he said, “but did the work schedule arrive yet?”

“We’re off-duty the rest of the day.” Sol smiled. “More time for you and me to get to know each other. Which reminds me…” He pinched the zipper of his sleek, white navigator uniform. “Do you mind if I switch to my civvies real quick? I’ve never liked the way this suit… clings all over.”

Helios didn’t mind the way it fit, but he thought it was best not to come on too strong right away. “Sure, sure,” he muttered. He started to step out the open door, but Sol waved him back.  

“You don’t have to do that.” He laughed again. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next few months. And I’m sure not stepping into the hall every time you get dressed. Just close the door for me.”

“Right,” Helios said sheepishly. “Makes sense.” He pressed a button on the door frame and it slid closed with another whir. Sol turned to the bags lying on his bed, his back to Helios, and slowly peeled down his uniform.

Taking a seat on his own bed, Helios tried to act casual as he watched his roommate with what he told himself was innocent curiosity. He could see that Sol was skinny, but not frail. He had the toned body of a long distance runner, and his small frame made the well-developed muscles on his biceps and thighs stand out even more.

Sol was just kicking his suit off, revealing a pair of tight briefs, when he looked back over his shoulder with a smile. “So, two minutes in, am I getting on your nerves yet roomie?”

Helios cocked an eyebrow. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”


	2. Rendezvous

“So tell me about Selene.”

“He’s my boss, and I hate him because I’m here running diagnostics on every ship in the hangar when I should be in bed.”

“Right, but I mean besides that.”

The hangar bay was nearly deserted this late at night. A lonely pair of support workers manned the flight desk, with tall mugs of reheated coffee to keep them awake.

Since the Kepler’s mission began weeks ago there had been no action, and only a handful of scouting sorties. This meant there was little to do in this part of the ship – except the grunt work that kept the long rows of parked starfighters in battle-ready condition.

Sol was crouched inside the cockpit of one ship. He had tied his coveralls off at his waist, and a tool belt full of scanners and other devices was slung over his bare shoulder like a bandolier. Up above on the ship’s roof, Helios sat dangling his feet into the cockpit, an open bag of diagnostic gear ready at his side.

“I mean, what’s he like, what kind of boss is he? And don’t say a crappy one because-”

“-because I’m down here running diagnostics on every ship in the hangar? Well, if the shoe fits,” Sol grunted. “Auto-socket.” He held out a hand for the tool without looking back, and Helios passed it down from the bag.

Helios kept his mouth shut. Sol never stayed quiet for long, especially when he was working. Helios figured Sol was the type of person so easily distracted that he even had to distract _himself_ sometimes.

“I’ll tell you this for free: he’s smarter than any three of us navigators put together,” Sol said at last. “He’s been drilling the techniques and formulas into his head since he was a kid. He knows every system, program, and strategy in the books backwards and forwards. It’s almost scary sometimes.”

“Hmm. Does he go for anyone?”

Sol shot a disappointed look over his shoulder, but Helios could only shrug.

Their partnership had never been strictly professional, but it wasn’t exactly exclusive either. The best thing Sol could say about his relationship with Helios was that neither of them held any illusions about what connected them: friendship, absolutely. Passion and lust, definitely. But not love, or even something like it.

Still, being primed for intel about Helios’ newest crush struck Sol as a little cold. “Is this your way of telling me I should bleach my hair?” he grumbled, turning back to the circuits and monitors he was working on.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Helios cooed. He stroked the toe of his boot against Sol’s shoulder, but the other man swatted it away without looking back. “What can I say? I’ve had my eye on him since I saw him on stage at the orientation. Are you telling me the rank and uniform don’t even turn you on a little?”

“I guess I’m immune to his charms,” Sol muttered into the control panel in front of him. “And so is Endymion.”

Helios restrained himself from asking another question, letting Sol’s urge to gab wear him down instead.

“What I mean by that is,” he continued, “my fearless leader seems to only have eyes for his partner. The older crew – the ones that have served with him for years - say that he’s never taken an interest in anyone else.”

“But Endymion isn’t so committed?” Helios ventured.

“That’s one way to put it. Ask around in any department on the ship and they’ll tell you stories. Real player, either because he’s got the looks or because he’s too high up to turn down. Seems like he takes his pick and doesn’t take no for an answer. I’m surprised you had to ask, because that includes the fighters.”

Helios had asked around – about Selene, not Endymion – and noticed something funny. The other fighters would brag about fucking anyone or anything, but mention the Lead Navigator and suddenly they got shy.

He had guessed the other guys realized telling tales about an officer like Selene could get them slapped with a disciplinary action. But maybe it was something about Selene’s partner that made them think twice before opening their mouths.

The feeling of Sol tugging on his pant leg brought Helios back to the present. “Out of the way, loverboy,” he chided, “this ship’s done and we’ve got a lot more to go.”

Helios swung his legs out of the cockpit and slid down from the ship, the bag of gear in hand. He noticed that the night crew at the flight desk had disappeared while they were working on the last ship. Probably off playing cards somewhere, he thought. Sol dropped to the ground behind him with a thud.

“Hey,” Helios said, putting an arm around his partner’s shoulders. “We’re all alone in here.” He pointed out the empty desk at the opposite end of the hangar. “Does that give you any ideas?”

“I could kill you, and there would be no witnesses,” Sol said with a smile. “Was that what you had in mind?”

Helios lifted the tool belt off Sol’s shoulder, dropping it to the floor beside them as he leaned in to plant a kiss on his partner’s soft, dark pink lips. He draped his arms around Sol’s shoulders, and felt the other man’s hands reach for his belt buckle.

*******

The first sign that something was wrong came when the flight desk didn’t respond to Selene’s call.

He had been working late in the bridge, trying to get ahead of the constant deluge of reports and logs he was expected to file. The old joke about Alliance paperwork was that you needed to sign three forms just to hand in one.

For once, he had been making good time – and might have made it back to his quarters before Endymion was asleep, or pretending to be – but of course that was just a big, blinking signal to the universe that something had to go wrong.

A weekly data log was missing for a starfighter. That meant taking a trip down to the hangar bay to retrieve it himself, if he hoped to finish the job tonight.

Or, he could just ask the flight desk crew to get it for him. But of course, they weren’t answering. So Selene pushed himself away from his desk and trudged off to get it himself, his tablet in hand.

He practiced cussing the flight desk crew out, loudly, the whole elevator ride to the hangar, only to find the desk was deserted. He made a mental note to check who had been on duty tomorrow – the chance to discipline someone who genuinely made his life more stressful was one of the few pleasures his position afforded.

He had been walking towards the starfighter to get the log himself, when a low moan echoed through the open space of the hangar.

He froze in place, clutching his tablet to his chest, wondering if he had just imagined things, before another drawn out grunt broke the silence.

 _Aha,_ he thought, _the missing hangar crew_.

In spite of himself, Selene felt a smile spread across his face. He crept towards the continued gasps and grunts, treading carefully and quietly from the heel of his boots to the balls of his feet. He relished the fact that the pair seemed to be in no hurry to end their fun. _They ruined my night_ , he told himself, _so why should they enjoy theirs?_

He sidled carefully between the parked starfighters, trying to stay out of sight, until the sounds of wet kisses and heavy breathing told him the men, and he was sure by the sound that it was two men, were just on the other side of the ship beside him.

Taking a deep breath, and composing his face in the deadly serious expression he had learned from Commander Hayden, Selene stepped around the ship and into the open.

His jaw dropped when he saw the pair up close.

Selene knew at a glance that the man on his knees was Sol, one of his navigators, and recognized by the dark jacket and shirt crumpled on the floor beside them that the man in front of Sol was a fighter.

Neither of them had taken any notice of Selene – Sol was obviously occupied, and his partner’s head was leaned far back, resting against the ship, his eyes closed and mouth slack with ecstasy as Sol's hands trailed over his bare torso.

Selene took in the stranger’s features quickly: he was tall, with a dark black undercut, a strong jaw, and a lithe, muscular body. _That must be Sol’s partner_ , he realized, _his actual partner_. But the fighter’s name escaped him.

He was standing frozen in place, on the verge of calling out to the men or dashing out of the hangar, when the stranger stretched his hand down.

His strong grip cupped the back of Sol’s head, guiding him gently. His fingers spread through Sol’s hair, flexing in reaction to what was happening outside of Selene’s vision. They stroked gently, lovingly over Sol’s scalp.

The details of the stranger’s hand – and his smooth chest, his reddened cheeks, the way his tongue lolled over his bottom lip in reaction to what Sol must be doing with his mouth - entranced Selene in a way he could not explain.

He didn’t even notice his tablet slipping out of his hand until it was too late, and it crashed against the hangar floor with a _crack_.

The spell was broken, and Sol’s head swiveled on his shoulders as the stranger’s eyes shot open, but Selene was already dashing through the rows of spacecrafts, sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him until the door of the hangar’s elevator slammed shut behind him.

That was when the name finally struck him – echoing in his mind like a thunderclap in the silence of the lift.

_Helios. Helios. Helios._


	3. Collision Course

Selene’s heart was still pounding as the elevator slowed to a stop at the officers’ deck. Each step down the hall sent a wave of nausea lurching through his body, and he had to stop short of the door to his room, leaning against the bulkhead to keep from collapsing.

At the academy, he had learned how to calm his nerves during hairpin maneuvers, and to stay composed under enemy fire. But nothing had prepared him for the flood of emotions – shame, embarrassment, and especially desire – that was coursing through his body now.

Pressing a hand to his chest, he forced himself to take deep, slow breaths, counting the seconds in his mind before softly exhaling.

He couldn’t walk into his quarters this way. Endymion would have read the anxiety on his face in an instant, asked too many probing questions. In his state, Selene couldn’t trust himself to give the right answers.

But why did he feel so guilty? He had walked in on a starfighter team entertaining themselves in the hangar bay. It was hardly a first for the Alliance – and he wasn’t the one at fault.

Still, the sight of Helios (and he was sure now that was the fighter’s name, _Helios_ ) had filled him with an urge that he recognized instantly: the burning attraction he had only ever felt for Endymion, until tonight.

The sound of footsteps at the end of the hall pulled Selene out of his own thoughts. He pressed his keycard to the door and ducked inside his quarters as it opened, quickly sliding it shut with another touch.

Endymion was lounging on his bunk just inside the door, dressed in loose pajama bottoms without a shirt, his tablet resting on his muscular chest. His sheets were folded neatly underneath him, while Selene’s were still lying in a pile on his bunk after being kicked off that morning.

Selene thought he noticed a sneer on his partner’s face as he stepped into the room, but it quickly shifted into a welcoming smile.

“You’re back early,” Endymion said, setting the tablet aside. “Did you get all your work done?”

“I’m feeling tired.” Selene said with a genuine yawn. That evening would have been his third late night in a row, if _the interruption_ had not convinced him to turn in early. “I can leave the reports for tomorrow.”

He took a seat beside Endymion on his bunk, softly trailing his fingers along his partner’s arm, but Endymion’s eyes scanned him with suspicion.

“And the commander isn’t going to miss them tomorrow morning?” he asked. “We’re a week away from our appraisals, and we can’t afford a slip-up like that.”

Selene gritted his teeth. _That must be a new record_ , he thought. _From my entrance to nagging me about the appraisals in less than a minute, with no ‘hello’ included._

Endymion had always been fixated on citations, appraisals, and the dozens of other reviews that were a regular part of military life. If Selene had been the academy’s most gifted student, Endymion was its most devoted teacher’s pet.

“You’re starting to obsess a little,” Selene teased, resting his hand on Endymion’s chest. “A few years of excellent work deserve one or two early nights, don’t you think?”

“Not if they cost us everything we’ve worked for all these years.”

Endymion’s voice had a playful lilt, but his face was stern, and Selene caught a glimpse of coldness lingering behind his partner’s eyes. He squeezed Endymion’s shoulder gently.

“Hayden couldn’t run this ship without me,” he said. “He’s not going to put us on latrine duty because a few data logs hit his desk _on time_ instead of early.” _And I can’t even remember the last time you worked late_ , he thought, but knew not to say out loud.

He reached out to take Endymion’s hand, but when his partner threaded their fingers together, he squeezed  them hard enough to make Selene wriggle uncomfortably.

“Get them done tomorrow Selene,” he ordered, staring at his partner with harsh eyes. Selene tried to keep concern from showing on his face as he drew in a sharp breath. “I don’t want Hayden chewing me out because my partner has been ignoring his work.”

“I will. I promise.”

Endymion’s grip loosened, and all at once the familiar warmth returned to his face.

“I shouldn’t be so hard on you.” He patted Selene’s hand in a gesture that was meant to be comforting. But the image of Endymion’s glare was still fresh in his partner’s mind. “I know you have so much on your shoulders, but I’m looking out for both of us.”

“Sure. I know.”

“Is there something else on your mind?” Selene felt his eyes widen at the question before he could stop himself.

For a moment, he wondered if Endymion could tell what he had seen tonight, or what he had felt. He told himself that was only paranoia, but sweat trickled down his neck as Endymion kept his appraising eyes locked on him.

“Just that I’ve been missing you,” he managed to say at last, squeezing Endymion’s hand in his own. “You were asleep when I came in last night and still in bed when I left this morning.”

“I was dreaming about you the whole time.” Endymion smiled. “I promise.” His strong arms wrapped around Selene’s waist, pulling him close as he planted a kiss on his lips.

In an instant, Selene felt the tension lift out of his body, replaced by the reassuring warmth of Endymion’s touch. This was another routine that Selene had become accustomed to: the moments of surprising tenderness that always followed Endymion’s worst bullying.

These felt artificial to Selene, at first. But every touch from Endymion lulled his defenses, tearing down the wall that had formed between them in the past months brick by brick; at least for the night. 

They rolled together on the slim bunk, finding their positions with ease from years of practice. Endymion straddled Selene as the navigator’s hands glided over his bare torso. Selene felt his partner quivering from just the touch of his fingers.

Their heads pressed close together as Endymion slid his tongue into Selene’s mouth. His hands worked instinctively, unzipping Selene’s jacket and beginning to peel it off.

Selene helped by shimmying his arms loose, never pulling his lips away as his tongue flicked playfully at Endymion’s. Endymion tossed the jacket beside the bed, and one of his strong hands pushed up Selene’s undershirt, revealing his slender body, as the fingers of his other hand hooked under the waistband of his pants.

“Wait,” Selene groaned, “wait.” One of his slim hands pushed lightly against Endymion’s chest, and his partner leaned away obediently.

“Don’t tell me you’re too tired.” Endymion laughed.

“No, but I have something else in mind.” Selene pecked him on the lips, before sliding out from under his arms and off the bunk.

Endymion stood slowly, appraising Selene warily as the navigator shrugged out of his undershirt and knelt down. His brown cheeks had turned dark red as he blushed, staring up longingly at his partner.

“I want it like this,” Selene cooed, his hands stroking Endymion’s crotch through his pants. His partner was rock hard, and had no objections. He unbuttoned his fly and Selene took him in his hands.

“And like this,” he said softly, guiding Endymion’s hand into his hair.

As Selene took his partner in his mouth, he felt Endymion’s hand slowly trail through his long hair, cupping the back of his head and guiding him carefully. Soon, Selene could hear him breathing deeply, and grunting with pleasure.

But with a swirl of Selene’s tongue, Endymion’s hand clenched, yanking back a handful of hair and drawing a low moan from the kneeling man.

Leaning his head back, Endymion closed his eyes, not noticing that Selene had already shut his as a dreamy expression showed on his face.

 _This is what I wanted_ , Selene told himself. _This is what makes sense_.

But in his mind, the man before him was not Endymion.

*******

Helios stepped off the elevator and took in the wide open space of the bridge spread out before him, scanning the long rows of computer banks and screens as he tightly clenched the bag in his hand.

It was not his first time here, but he had not come to visit Sol or the other navigators as usual. Instead, he turned his eyes toward the Lead Navigator’s desk.

He had arrived after a long night of simulator training – telling Sol he was off to “look after the ship” as his excuse – and the bridge was mostly deserted. Only a few haggard crew members sat slumped behind their computer monitors, including Selene at his isolated desk behind the navigators’ section.

 _It’s now or never_ , Helios told himself, urging his feet to move forward one step at a time. Anxious thoughts told him to turn around and walk away, not to stop until he was back at his quarters. He focused on Selene to quiet the urges.

He sat in the glow of his desk’s three computer screens, hands buried in the highlighted ends of his hair, his brow wrinkled in concentration as his hazel eyes scanned the monitors.

Helios noticed that Selene was biting his bottom lip in concentration, and that the soft light of the bridge gave his smooth, brown skin a striking glow. His faced turned to Helios as a slim, dark eyebrow cocked in confusion –

 _Shit_ , he realized _, I’ve been staring_.

He was standing just beside Selene’s desk, but had no idea how long he had been there. Selene said nothing, just stared up at Helios with an amused apprehension, waiting patiently for an explanation.

“I brought you this,” Helios said at last, holding the paper bag in his hand up beside his blushing face.

“I don’t want it,” Selene said briskly, turning back to his work. For a moment, Helios just stood at his side, stunned, the bag dangling from his hand.

 “Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s full of those cream pastries from the canteen.” He held the bag open to let the freshly baked smell waft out. “A little bird told me that you liked them.”

Helios had actually noticed Selene enjoying the pastries himself, but thought he might seem like a stalker if he said so.

“Congratulations,” Selene said without turning away from his screen. “That’s officially the worst bribe anyone has ever offered me.”

“Give me a little more credit than that.” Helios set the bag down on the desk, but Selene quickly pushed it aside, his eyes still glued to his computer.

“Don’t try this with Endymion either,” he said without turning away from his work. “He might break your arm before getting you demoted to the cleaning crew.  I’m nice enough to give you a warning, and you should be smart enough to take it. There’s only one way to get ahead on this ship.”

“I’m happy where I am, thanks.”

“Yes,” Selene said, swiveling his chair toward Helios with a wry smile on his face. “You and your partner seem to get along well. Your compatibility scores must be phenomenal.”

Helios could feel himself blush under Selene’s eyes, but returned the Lead Navigator’s gaze. “That’s what this is.” He tapped the bag. “An apology for the other night.”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” Selene muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“You make it hard for a guy to say he’s sorry.” Helios sighed. He leaned back against Selene’s desk, his arms folded across his chest. “I swear I’m not out for a promotion. And I don’t mind telling you I have my own reasons for joining the Alliance, ones that have nothing to do with climbing the ladder.”

Selene only shook his head. “I’ve played this game myself, and I know how it works, despite whatever excuses you make.”

Helios felt a strong urge to throw his hands up and walk away. It wasn’t too late to spend the night with Sol and forget this stupid idea had ever crossed his mind.

 _But maybe I’m coming at this the wrong way,_ he thought. _Subtlety was never exactly my strong suit_. He felt a familiar giddiness that always accompanied his best – and sometimes his worst - ideas.

“Look,” he said, “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t interested in something, but it’s not a promotion.” He watched Selene carefully as his stern face softened for a moment, before he shook his head again.

“It all comes back to rank, eventually, no matter what you say.”

“Maybe you’ve been sitting behind this desk so long that you forgot what a real connection feels like.” His hand settled gently over Selene’s, and he felt the other man tense up. But he did not pull away.

Selene’s hazel eyes were staring into Helios’ own, but he thought they looked curious, not alarmed. As he smoothed his thumb over Selene’s wrist, the other man drew in a slow breath, his face suddenly turning away to the desk before him.

Slowly, forcing himself not to rush, Helios leaned down towards Selene, resting his other hand on the back of his chair as his lips drew close- but Selene’s hand pressed firmly against his chest made Helios freeze, his face still inches from the other man’s.

“Not here,” Selene hissed, his head swiveling to the side to check the rest of the bridge. He turned back scowling. “Never here. Never again.”

The words brought Helios back to reality. He could see they were partly hidden behind Selene’s bank of computer screens, and no one seemed to be looking their way, but the spell of the moment had been broken.

He had let himself get carried away, forgotten the risk he was taking even by coming here tonight. What might have happened if they _had_ been seen together? Helios realized just how careless he had been all at once, and began to splutter out an apology, until Selene cut him off.

“There’s an unused office on the administration floor, number 213. If you enter by the rear bank of elevators no one should see you go in.”

Selene’s hand slid out from Helios’ grip, but then clasped fingers with his hand and squeezed gently. He still looked wary, but Helios could see the anger and embarrassment from a moment ago had already vanished from his face.

“Tomorrow night. I can’t promise when I’ll meet you, or if I’ll even show up. That’s the best I can do.”

“I understand,” Helios said simply.

“And not a word of this to anyone. Especially not to Sol.”

Helios chanced a playful wink, but Selene only rolled his eyes and turned back to his work. In an instant, he looked as if Helios’ entire interruption, and their arrangement, had never happened.

Helios could feel his heart pounding as he grabbed the pastries and turned to leave – convinced he could wake up at any moment to discover it had all been a dream.  

“Wait.”

Selene’s grabbed Helios’ wrist suddenly, making him stop in his tracks. He sighed and turned around slowly, shoulders slumped in defeat, feeling sure that Selene had come to his senses and would call the whole thing off.

But the Lead Navigator only smiled as he snatched the bag back.

“That was all,” he said, and popped one of the pastries into his mouth. “See you soon.”


	4. Heavenly Bodies

For what must have been the hundredth time that day, Selene thought through his list of reasons why this was an awful idea.

The administration level was deserted as he had said, and he assumed Helios was already waiting behind the door just next to him.

But even after slipping away from the bridge early, and taking a careful path through the ship to avoid being seen, Selene was unable to bring himself to open the door.

 _Let’s take it from the top_ , he thought.

His first concern wasn’t a risk, but a fact: stepping through that door would make him a cheater. Forever.

Whatever he knew (or could guess) about Endymion’s own weakness, until now Selene could proudly say he was a faithful partner. Was some handsome fighter worth throwing that away?

 _But maybe_ , he thought _, the damage is already done_. Endymion might not open up to him about crawling into bed with other men, but Selene knew it was happening, even if he couldn’t admit it to himself.

Which was worse: being the second partner to acknowledge they weren’t happy together, or to keep convincing himself Endymion would change his ways?

Then there was the small matter of keeping his job, but Selene knew he didn’t have much to worry about on that account.

There was, technically, a rule against officers fraternizing with their men, but in Selene’s entire career with the Alliance he had never seen it enforced. Both Endymion and Commander Hayden were living proof that unwritten rule still stood on the Kepler.

Finally, Selene’s thoughts circled back to Endymion.

In spite of everything, Selene knew he wasn’t ready to lose his partner. Upsetting Endymion would actually be satisfying, especially with the way he had been acting lately. But the thought that this affair could break them up forever gave Selene pause.

Since he was a teenager, he had only known a life with Endymion in it. The thought of losing him because of what could just be a fling was almost enough to make Selene get back in the elevator. _Almost_.

He just could not bring himself to walk away. Something behind the door would not let him leave. At least, not without confronting it head on.

The door slid aside with a touch on its control panel, and Selene stepped into the room.

It was a spare office, and since there was no need for it among the crew it had been left mostly empty for as long as Selene had been onboard the Kepler. It had been his hideaway with Endymion, once, but Selene had not even stepped foot in it since Helios and the other new recruits had come on board.

He wondered if Endymion could say the same.

A pair of mattresses Endymion had hauled out of storage were pressed together on one side of the small room, while a few unused desks and office chairs were piled at the other end.

Helios was propped against a desk, with a warm smile on his face. Selene wondered how long he had been waiting. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come,” he said.

“I was beginning to think I shouldn’t,” answered Selene. He waited by the door, scanning the fighter warily. Despite his hesitation, Selene’s eyes lingered over Helios’ lean body, his sharp features, and his bright eyes. “And what would you have done if I didn’t? Gone to find some other navigator to spend the night with?”

Helios grimaced, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’ve been honest with you from the start, Selene. Can’t you at least admit you want this too?”

“Don’t try to tell me how I feel.” The last word came out sharp, like an order, but Helios didn’t flinch. “I know why I’m here, but I’m still not sure why you want this. Maybe you’re not out for a promotion, but just to prove something. Or do you want bragging rights for fucking the Lead Navigator?”

Helios turned away, staring into the corner of the room as his cheeks turned red. Selene shook his head.

“I’ll save us both the trouble. Tell your friends whatever you want, just don’t bother asking me again.” He turned on his heel and reached for the door.

“It was my first day,” Helios said softly. Selene paused, his back to the fighter, his arm still poised to slide the door open.

“I saw you for the first time at orientation,” Helios continued with a sigh. “You were beautiful. Your hair, your eyes, the way you stood on stage. I was mesmerized.”

Selene turned his head to look over his shoulder, and saw Helios staring back, still blushing but with a small smile on his lips.

“But you also looked sad. I couldn’t say why, maybe something in the look of your eye, or just something I sensed about you. I just got this feeling. I knew I wanted to take away that sadness. To hold you in my arms until it was gone. I-”

Whatever Helios meant to say next was lost in a small gasp, as Selene crossed the room and grabbed the front of his uniform with both hands.

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” he muttered, leaning in suddenly and planting a soft, slow kiss on Helios’ lips.

Helios was in shock at first, his eyes and mouth open wide as his hands were held up, palms forward, as if in surrender. But he relaxed quickly, pressing his hands to Selene’s back and pulling him close, his tongue reaching out to brush the other man’s.

He let out a cry of surprise as he felt something shove into his knee, but realized Selene had spread his legs apart with one of his own. The navigator pressed his hips close to Helios’, grinding and swaying as they kissed.

“I thought you would want me to take the lead,” Helios cooed as he pulled away to catch his breath.

Selene laughed as he leaned in again, cupping the back of Helios’ head with his palm. “Not a chance.”

They traded kisses more passionately now, their bodies pressed close to each other. Selene sucked on Helios’ lip as the other man groaned.  Helios traced the outline of Selene’s mouth with his tongue.

Then Selene leaned his head away, spreading kisses down Helios’ neck and brushing his soft lips over his skin, drawing satisfied groans from his partner.

He slid a hand between their bodies, spreading his fingers over the crotch of Helios’ pants and feeling how hard he was.

 _Not yet_ , he told himself. _I can still have a little fun with him_.

He leaned away, slapping down Helios’ hands as he reached out to pull him back. “Hold on,” he purred, savoring the way Helios bit his lip, visibly frustrated but with excitement glimmering in his eyes.

Selene reached down to pull the top of his navigator uniform above his head, moving his hands with deliberate slowness, revealing his slender, brown torso inch by inch.

The uniform had flipped inside out as Selene pulled it over his head, when Helios reached out suddenly, taking Selene’s arms in a firm grip. Selene laughed and squirmed, his head and arms caught in the jacket like a net, blocking his vision.

Then Helios pressed his tongue to his bare skin.

Selene writhed, he moaned, he stamped his feet as Helios tongued and kissed his neck, chest, and stomach. He was blindfolded by the jacket, with no idea where Helios’ lips would be next until the soft, cool sensation of them against his skin made Selene whimper and quiver.

All the while, Helios’ strong hands pinned his arms above his head. Selene knew he could make Helios stop, if he asked. He could let go of the jacket and let it fall over Helios’ head, signaling he was done with this game. 

But he endured it for as long as he could bear, finally breaking when Helios flicked his tongue over his nipple. A wave of warmth course through his body, and Selene felt like his legs would give out from pleasure.

“Nngh,” he moaned, stepping backwards with his arms still held over his head. Helios took his cue and pulled the jacket off completely, letting it drop to the floor beside him.

Selene saw that he was beaming, obviously proud to have caught him by surprise.

“My turn.” He laughed, peeling Helios’ jacket off his shoulders and tossing it aside. “It seems like you’re forgetting who’s in charge here.”

*******

“Wake up loverboy,” Cain growled, slapping Helios on the side of the head with a target mitt.

Helios raised his hands in their boxing gloves feebly, rubbing at his sore ear. “You know I’m supposed to be the one throwing punches, right?”

It was early in the morning, and the fighters’ gym was crowded and noisy. Men lifted weights, ran on treadmills, or just chatted alongside the equipment before it was time for morning duties.

Kane had pulled Helios into a small ring at the room’s far end to practice mitt work. Helios didn’t know the other fighter well, except by reputation, but it seemed the mousy fighter that normally trailed him was busy with something else this morning.

Helios, who had only squeezed in a few hours of sleep after his tiring meeting with Selene, and who had just been walking by the gym when Kane waved him in, guessed that this was the universe’s way to punish him for last night.

He threw a short combination of punches as Cain flashed the pads, but another overhand slap with the target mitt caught him off guard.

“Seriously, can you at least wait your turn?” Helios groaned, shaking his head to try and clear out the lingering sleepiness.

“You have to be ready for anything.” Cain laughed, throwing a quick hook that Helios managed to duck. “Even if your gas tank is empty from a night with that special someone.”

Helios actually felt jealous of Cain’s stamina, as he could duck and weave around the ring while still teasing him.

“Tell me, I saw Sol walking to your quarters alone last night, so who left those hickeys on your neck?”

Helios hunched his shoulders around his neck instinctively, then let out a flurry of punches at the targets Cain showed, grinding his teeth and trying to focus on his breathing.

“Casanova can’t even remember who it was.” Cain laughed again. A handful of fighters leaning against the edges of the ring laughed along with him. “Afraid I’ll steal your action tough guy?”

He snapped out a jab with his gloved hand, but Helios slipped underneath in a flash, landing a sharp cross to Cain’s midsection. The other fighter doubled over, groaning, as Helios unfastened a glove with his teeth.

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” he said with a smirk. “And even if I told you, trust me, you wouldn’t believe me.”

He was pulling the other glove off when something odd made him pause. The gym had suddenly gone quiet, no clanking weights or humming machines.

Turning around, Helios saw that the room had mostly emptied out, with just a couple of fighters lingering around the ring, staring up at him intently.

He looked up at the sound of the gym door closing as the last few stragglers cleared out, leaving Endymion standing just inside the room, his arms crossed and his face stern.

Helios nearly jumped when Cain patted a hand on his shoulder. “I believe you,” he said grimly.

He stepped out of the ring without another word, still clutching a hand to his bruised stomach as he trudged out of the room. Endymion pulled the door open for him and Cain ducked out with a nod.

As the door shut again, Endymion tapped a keycard to the access panel, and the _click_ that followed echoed in the nearly empty room.

Helios’ mind was racing as Endymion walked slowly towards the ring. The handful of fighters left in the gym, obviously Endymion’s flunkies, didn’t take their eyes off Helios as their leader crossed the room. Helios counted five of them spread out through the gym, along with Endymion. He even recognized a few fighters, older crew members with reputations for being tough and well-connected.

 _No way out of this, just through_ , he told himself.

“G-good morning sir,” he called out as he leaned over the ropes. He tried to keep his voice steady, but a telltale tremor snuck in.

“Good morning Helios,” Endymion said cheerfully. He stood just outside the ring, arms folded behind his back in the _at ease_ position, smiling up at Helios as if they had just bumped into each other in the halls.

“You should know by now I don’t stand on formalities,” he continued. “Especially not with my own men.” He stepped onto the ring apron and through the ropes with practiced ease, making Helios step back towards the center of the ring in spite of himself.

When the Lead Fighter stood up in front of him, Helios sized him up. Endymion was not much taller than he was, and would be at a disadvantage when it came to speed, but the officer’s bulky frame would pose a serious challenge in a fair fight.

 _And no one who shows up with five goons has a fair fight planned_ , he told himself.

“It’s good that you keep up with your exercise,” Endymion said, sounding genuinely pleased. There was a frightening twinkle in his thin eyes. “I want all my men in top shape. In fact, I could probably use a little exercise myself.” He leaned down to pick up the boxing gloves that Helios had pulled off.

As he strapped them on carefully, Helios took in the room quickly. Two men were posted towards the doors, leaning casually on the weightlifting gear. Two more had pressed close to the ring, leaning against it with mischievous smiles on their faces.

That was four, but – the pair of strong arms that pinned Helios’ own back in a full nelson answered the question ringing through his mind.

He squirmed against the other man’s grip, pulling against his arms with wrapped hands, cursing himself for letting the man sneak into the ring behind him, but the hold was locked tight with no escaping. He shut his eyes, let his body relax, and tried to ignore the sound of Endymion slapping his gloves together across the ring.

“You don’t mind if I join you, do you Helios?” The Lead Fighter’s voice still had its pleasant, casual tone.

“No sir,” he murmured through gritted teeth.

“There you go with that ‘Yes sir, no sir’ again,’” Endymion sighed. He advanced slowly, his hands held up in a fighting stance. “I got my fill of that at the academy, Helios. I guess I haven’t introduced myself properly since you joined the ship.”

Helios barely saw the punch lash out, turning his face away just an instant before it collided with the side of his head. Bells rang and fireworks lit up behind his eyes as he sagged in the other man’s arms.

“But you know my partner, Selene, don’t you?” Endymion’s voice sounded to Helios as if it was underwater, but the crushing sensation of a second punch to his midsection cleared his head quickly. He rocked back on his heels, gasping for breath as a right hook from Endymion almost knocked him out of the other man’s grip.

“Keep your guard up,” Endymion growled, bouncing Helios’ head to the side. “Let’s see those hands move,” he grunted, snapping out a quick combination that landed with heavy thuds.

Painful seconds stretched into minutes, and Helios was thankful that Endymion at least gave up on the cruel jokes to focus on the beating.

He took his time, chose his punches carefully. Helios watched his own blood pool on the mat, dripping off Endymion’s gloves, as his vision dimmed and flickered with every blow.

The punches stopped, eventually, but the pain continued to throb throughout Helios’ torso and face. The man holding him up let go at a signal from Endymion, and he collapsed to the mat in a heap.

He felt something dig under his shoulder and flip him over, realizing it had been Endymion’s boot when he was saw other man’s face glaring down at him. Endymion only stared down at first, as if he was waiting to be sure that Helios was awake and aware, but then crouched beside him.

“I think we’ve been properly introduced now, Helios. I have three rules for my men: don’t question my orders, keep your mouth shut about what I do, and stay the fuck away from Selene.”

Helios gasped as Endymion pressed a knee down onto his bruised chest, trying feebly to pull away from the crushing weight.

“Have a made myself clear?” he asked. He leaned back slightly, letting Helios catch his breath through ragged, coughing gasps.

“Yes… sir,” he said in a choking rasp.

The dull pain throughout his body dimmed at last as he passed into unconsciousness. But Helios saw Endymion’s arm cock back one last time as his vision faded into grey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, those last two chapters took much longer than I expected! Sorry to anyone who was waiting, but I promise the next two won't take anywhere near that long.  
> As always, I would love to hear feedback - good or bad - about the story so far.


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